Trainer Dan Blacker admitted the reality of having won his first Breeders’ Cup race with Straight No Chaser in the Sprint on Saturday afternoon at Del Mar still hadn’t sunk in yet by the time he returned to the barn for training hours early Sunday. 

“Everything had been pointing up to this race with him for the last six months, and just to get through all that and win, it’s really so unbelievable,” said Blacker, who trains Straight No Chaser for My Racehorse. “He’s such a really talented horse and I’m just so thrilled for him and the connections.”

DEL MAR, Calif. – More Than Looks’ fastest final quarter-mile in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Mile got him only sixth. He did it again Saturday at Del Mar, and this time it got him the money and the glory.

Last in the early stages, More Than Looks unleashed a furious final burst through the final furlong to win the $2 million Mile.

DEL MAR, Calif. - In Sierra Leone, trainer Chad Brown thought he had the horse that was finally going to give him his first Kentucky Derby. Or maybe Belmont Stakes. Or Travers.

But Brown walked away from those three races empty-handed. Disappointed, not deterred, Brown set his sights on the Breeders’ Cup Classic the morning after the Aug. 24 Travers.

DEL MAR, Calif. – A workmanlike filly who never misses a meal and never misses a dance capped an outstanding campaign by leading gate to wire in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Saturday at Del Mar.

Anything short of victory by the odds-on favorite would have been disappointing.

DEL MAR, Calif. - From Starlust’s position toward the rear of the field midway through Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar, jockey Rossa Ryan feared that the heavily favored Cogburn was too far in front.

Very soon, Ryan had a different outlook just as Starlust began moving forward.

“At the top of the straight, I thought I’d be in the top four,” Ryan said. “We were getting a good run.”

All-sources handle on the five Breeders’ Cup races held Friday at Del Mar, including betting on all multi-race wagers ending in a Breeders’ Cup race, was up 1.9 percent compared to the same five races last year, according to race charts.

The comparison of the two sets of races is imperfect, as last year’s card included a pick 5 that ended with the first Breeders’ Cup race on the card, in addition to a late pick 5 that included all five Breeders’ Cup races. This year, only one pick 5 was included in the Breeders’ Cup sequence.

DEL MAR, Calif. – After a three-year banishment from the Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert will be permitted to run horses in the world’s most famous horse race in 2025.

It’s six months away, sure, but it already looks like Baffert has a horse or two for Kentucky Derby 151.

Taking advantage of a stumbling start for the favorite, East Avenue, Citizen Bull was able to make the lead under Martin Garcia, then get away with pedestrian fractions to beat his Baffert-trained stablemate Gaming by 1 1/2 lengths in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The problem for 2-year-old Europeans who come for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint arises about a quarter mile into the race – namely, the turn. Short European sprints, particularly at the higher levels, typically are run down a straightaway. But the challenge the turn presents for most overseas shippers proved an asset for Magnum Force, who parlayed an excellent ride from Colin Keane into victory in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint on Friday at Del Mar.